2012 news releases

Students teach students the importance of fire safety

May 8, 2012

Grade 6 and 7 students are mentoring their younger schoolmates on the importance of fire and life safety at Albert Community School, thanks to a partnership between SGI CANADA and Regina Fire & Protective Services.

These "fire safety mentors" have been trained to facilitate learning stations for younger students in grades 3, 4 and 5, which focus on careless cooking and arson prevention, the two leading causes of fires in our city, as well as misconceptions surrounding fire. The fourth station, "Safe Places, Safe People," is specifically designed for schools in the north central area of Regina, and teaches students how to recognize unsafe places and people in the community, and why to stay away from them, as well as safe locations to go for help.

This spring, each of the four schools participating in Regina Fire & Protective Services’ Mentorship Program are located in the city's highest fire-risk neighbourhood, north central Regina.

“SGI CANADA is proud to support programs like this one that help build stronger and safer communities,” said Andrew Cartmell, President and CEO of SGI CANADA. “This exercise provides students with positive leadership and mentorship skills, and allows them to be role models throughout the entire school year while also decreasing the number of fires we see in this city.”

Four other neighbourhoods with schools that have participated in the program have seen a decrease in arson fires from 2008 to 2010, and two neighbourhoods have seen a decrease in careless cooking fires in the same period.

“This is one of our most effective programs, and we could not run it without this sponsorship,” said Rick McCullough, Director of Fire and Protective Services with the City of Regina. “Students take so much away from the program, and the feedback we get is incredible. We're now at the point where teachers are calling us to request the program for their schools.”

Since the program began in 2005, 19 schools and nearly 2,500 students have participated in the program, with more than 280 mentors trained.

About SGI

Saskatchewan Government Insurance (SGI) is the province's self-sustaining auto insurance fund. SGI operates 21 claims centres and five salvage centres across Saskatchewan with a head office in Regina. SGI also works with a network of over 400 motor licence issuers across the province. Customers can now do some transactions online. Look for the MySGI link under Online Services on your motor licence issuer's website or SGI's website.